The fire was extinguished, and darkness had returned to the mountain.

The mountain wind blows, and the sound of the wind is so pure.

Song You stood in place, still carrying the lantern.

I saw him lift it up, tilt his head and blow on the lantern again, and the lantern immediately lit up again, the same as before. But when he had taken a step, he stopped and thought for a moment, shook his head, blew out the lantern again, put it away, and hung it on the horse's back, and walked slowly by the light of the stars.

The horse knew the way and led him back the way he came.

Before you know it, the road changes back to a mountain path, and when you look back and see the same mountain scenery and lights as you did at the beginning, it means that you have walked out.

Song You did not return to the place where he originally stopped, but found another flat place in the same place, spread out the felt again, sat down cross-legged, covered his legs with a blanket, and looked at the lights in the distance.

Those evils could not be left in his heart.

Only the strangeness seen on the road, and the sight and hearing in the market town, have some value worth recalling.

It's undoubtedly an amazing journey.

Practicing on the Yin and Yang Mountain, no matter how deep the Tao is, how can you see such a wonderful thing?

The most wonderful thing is the encounter with the little ghost.

This encounter is pure and simple.

Song You had read a lot of articles about wonderful encounters described by the ancients before, and he didn't find it interesting at the time, but now he has encountered it himself, and he realized that this water-like fate and intersection is really evocative. I'm afraid that this short conversation of one or two hours will be unforgettable decades later.

"Taoist ......"

"Huh?"

"What are you doing?"

The three-flowered cat crawled over and approached him with a puzzled face.

"Not dead."

"So what are you doing?"

"It's just a daze."

"Oh."

"Sanhua Niangniang knows what a daze is, right?"

"Sanhua Niangniang is often in a daze."

"That must be a deep foundation."

"Why did you set the fire so badly?"

"Huh?"

"Why is the fire so bad?"

The three-flowered cat sat down in front of him, sat upright, and stared up at him, with a light in her eyes.

"Maybe you can do it later."

"How?"

"Sanhua Niangniang is a cat that has to learn."

"How?"

"Sanhua Niangniang must know that if a spell wants to become powerful, it is inseparable from one's own Taoism, attainments in this spell, and even the right time and place, and one's own state of mind."

"I don't understand."

"The most important thing is to walk your own way." Song You lowered his head to the side, looked at the Sanhua cat, and said in a soft voice, "Sanhua Niangniang is very good at collecting firewood to light the fire, isn't it?" ”

"Yes!"

"It's like collecting firewood to make a fire. The deeper you go, the more wood you can put into the fire, and the better you can burn. If the road is shallow, there is not enough firewood, and it is not good firewood. If you want a fire to burn big, you need a lot of firewood, and it is all good firewood, and if you want to have more firewood and good firewood, you have to practice the spiritual method and improve your Taoism. ”

"Hmm!"

"And then there's your attainment in this spell, like how you set up firewood and how you light fire." Song You said, "The same amount of firewood, firewood is the same, some burn fast, some burn slowly, some fire is big, some fire is small, some can be burned clean, some seem to be burned, look at it, in fact, there are still a lot of unburned in it." If you want to burn well, you have to practice spells hard. ”

"Hmm!"

"Needless to say, the time and place are favorable, on a rainy day, the fire outside the house is definitely not easy to burn, Sanhua Niangniang is very smart, she must know."

"Yes!"

"Then there's the mood and the belief. The state of mind is the most subtle, the most difficult to cultivate, and sometimes the easiest, and everyone is different, so it's really hard to say. Instead, the belief is simple. Song You said, "Although the Five Elements Spell is not as affected by belief as the Retreat Technique, it does have an impact. If two people are practicing the same way, and their attainments in this spell are similar, and they compete together at the same time and place, if one party is full of confidence and the other party is weak-minded, the winner will definitely be divided. ”

"Isn't that new?"

"If you only talk about 'art', that's it. However, if you want to reach the depths, you have to have your own experience of the different 'ways'. Song You smiled, "Then it's even more difficult to say, you have to concentrate on enlightenment." Sanhua Niangniang doesn't need to care about it for the time being, just let it be. ”

"Hmm......"

Sanhua Cat pondered for a moment and continued to stare up at him: "So how can I do it?" ”

"Practice hard, practice a lot."

"Sanhua Niangniang has been doing this!"

"Sanhua Niangniang has perseverance and perseverance, and she is ashamed of herself." Song You said ashamedly.

"And how long will it take?"

"It's hard to say."

"How long will it take?"

"The world is unpredictable, and it's too complicated to say."

"Is ten years okay?"

"Maybe."

"Then how long and so much practice do I have every day?"

"That might be twenty years."

"Huh? Why? ”

"It's complicated ......"

"Hmm!"

The three-flowered cat lay down and listened carefully.

The felt underneath him gradually warmed up.

At this time, it was already the middle of the night, and the stars were in the sky overhead.

Before I knew it, I saw the lights on the mountainside in the distance suddenly go out. When I looked up again, the sky was already covered with a hint of fish belly white, white and yellow, yellow and blue, and blue.

Song You squinted under the blanket.

The three-flowered cat shrunk around his waist, and it was the warmest.

……

The morning light came from the top of the opposite mountain, and the cypress trees next to him blocked him for a while, but it was not long before the sun rose on the branches, and the light hit his face.

“……”

Song You slowly opened his eyes and sat up carefully.

No matter how careful she is, she can't hide the cat's vigilance, unless she doesn't want to get up.

So Song You hadn't left the bed yet, but a cat's head came out first, turning his head in a daze, squinting his eyes, looking left and right, and then staring at Song You.

"Are you leaving?"

The three-flowered cat asked, and while acquiescing that he was leaving, she also came out of the bed, yawned and stretched, and sat down to wait for him.

"Pretty much."

Song You also stood up, facing the opposite mountain, stretching his waist and moving his muscles.

In the middle of spring, the mountains are already green.

Although it is not early in the morning, there is still a white mist around the mountainside in the distance, faint and thin, light in color, not as white as rich and dazzling, but it only looks more refreshing. The green mountains are faintly blue in this morning, and the picture is clear and clean.

As for Yamashita who went last night......

Where is the road? Where is the market town? Where are the lights? It's just a barren mountain, a flat jungle, and a narrow path in the middle.

“……”

Song You smiled and didn't say anything.

It didn't take long for me to set off again.

The bells of the horses jingled, echoing above the heavy mountain, between the clouds and mist.

Song You pestled his bamboo cane, went around one mountain after another, and Sanhua Niangniang also turned into a human form, holding her small bamboo cane, learning from Song You, and pestle on the ground every step she took.

I don't know how far I've walked, but I know that the sun is gradually passing overhead, and the shadows are slanting from one side to the other.

As March approaches, the sun is getting hotter and hotter.

Sanhua Niangniang suddenly trotted past Song You from behind, holding the bamboo cane high in her little hand, and she didn't run far before she deviated from the mountain road, rushed onto the dirt slope next to the road, and looked ahead.

Then he turned back and shouted to Song You:

"There's water up ahead!"

"Okay."

Song You thanked her and told her to come down.

After a corner, I heard the sound of water, and a mountain spring flowed down from the mountain on the right, forming a small waterfall, and a small stream flowed below. There is also a flat land next to it, the grass grows shallow, there are predecessors here with stones to build a few small stoves, I don't know how many years to stay, I don't know how many people have used it.

I stopped here for lunch.

Even if it is only for a short time, take off the horse's quilt bag, pat it on the body, say hard work, and let it gnaw on the grass by itself.

Song You calculated, there is still a pound of ham slices left in the ham slices he bought last night, and the mushrooms he bought are wrapped in banana leaves, and even the wild fruits in the mountains are not crushed, so he just rests here and stews a pot of ham mushroom soup, which must be more delicious than the dry mushroom soup last night.

Make up your mind and start packing.

After coming out for a long time, the barren mountain picnic has become a habit, only to see the Taoist movement briskly, without procrastination, and the girl is also actively collecting firewood and actively lighting the fire.

Soon smoke rose again in the mountains.

At this time, the Taoist had nothing to do, so he half-lay down in the shade of the tree next to him, and while eating wild fruits, he looked at the girl: "If Sanhua Niangniang wants to play, I will just light the fire." ”

"I'll burn it!"

"Then just keep the fire small, with Sanhua Niangniang's ability, you must not be mistaken."

"No, it won't!"

"Sanhua Niangniang also knows that uncooked is poisonous, right?"

"Cats don't eat mushrooms!"

"Where's the three-flowered cat?"

"Sanhua cats don't eat either!"

"But you can't eat ham or soup."

"I won't steal it!"

"Good ......"

The Taoist narrowed his eyes, concentrating on enjoying the leisure at this moment, and also carefully comprehending this world at this moment.

The sunny spring is really pleasant, neither cold nor hot, and the spring breeze blows, and the fragrance of grass and wildflowers is still there. This mountain is quiet and quiet, except for the sound of the wind, there is only the sound of horses grazing and swaying bells, and there is inevitably a feeling of enjoying the spring light of this world at this moment. Although the stomach is empty, there is a kitten to help make the soup, and I just have to wait, and I will soon be able to taste the delicious mushroom soup. This deception is half a moment of leisure, somehow, it seems to be more fascinating than the ordinary half day.

Gradually, it is time for the fragrance to be strong.

The little girl was burning, and suddenly she raised her head, stretched her neck, and looked into the distance.

"Someone's coming!"

“……”

Song You opened his eyes slightly and followed her gaze.

It's just that the road is winding, and it doesn't take long to be blocked behind the mountain, and you can't see anything at all.

After a while, I faintly heard the sound of bells, jingling, and there seemed to be quite a few of them. After a while, the sound of the bell gradually became clear, and a group of merchants appeared at the end of the mountain road.

Four or five dark-skinned adults, two teenagers, led horses and mules, and carried goods towards this direction.

Song You sat up a little.

There is a vacant land here, and there is a mountain spring, which is a place for merchants to rest, when this group of people saw Song You, although they were a little surprised, they looked at him cautiously several times, but they also came to get water to drink, and then they sat around and took out dry food to eat.

Song You's mushroom soup was almost ready, he got up from under the tree, filled a bowl, and gave Sanhua Niangniang more meat, he mainly used mushrooms and soup, and steamed buns as the staple food.

Merchants kept looking at Song You.

Song You also glanced at them from time to time.

Finally, the two sides looked at each other.

A swarthy merchant nodded at Song You with a smile, and Song You hurriedly returned the salute with a smile.

So he bowed his hand to him and asked:

"Where is the gentleman from? Where are you going? ”

"I'm coming from Xiangle County, and I'm going to Nanhua County, Pingzhou." Song You replied, "Where are you from?" ”

"We are from Nanhua County and are going to Xiangle County."

"That's a coincidence."

"This road is mainly from Nanhua to Xiangle, from Pingzhou to Xuzhou. There are very few people who walk this way, and even fewer who come up or go down from the middle. The merchant smiled, "Most of the people who take this road are those of us who travel between Pingzhou and Xuzhou. ”

"I see."

"Sir walked this way?"

"First time." Song You replied, "I am from Yizhou, I have traveled to Xuzhou, and I want to go to Pingzhou. ”

"First time walking?"

"Yes."

“……”

The merchant seemed to be very surprised, looked Song You up and down again, and then looked at the little girl next to him who was holding a bowl and ignoring what was going on outside the window, and only ate the meat in the bowl, gradually frowned, and turned his head to look at his companion next to him, not knowing what he was communicating.

The mountain was quiet for a while, and only two teenagers were puzzled, but they also felt that the atmosphere was wrong.

I only heard the merchant suddenly ask:

"Are you humans or demons?"

"Down there are people."

Song You was not in a hurry and replied sincerely.